1. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to composite components and in particular to a method and apparatus for manufacturing composite components. Still more particularly the present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, for manufacturing a composite component using a tool.
2. Background
Aircraft are being designed and manufactured with greater and greater percentages of composite materials. Some aircraft may have more than fifty percent of their primary structure made from composite materials. Composite materials are used in aircraft to decrease the weight of the aircraft. This decreased weight improves performance features, such as payload capacities and fuel efficiencies. Further, composite materials provide longer service life for various components in an aircraft.
Composite materials are tough, light-weight materials, created by combining two or more dissimilar components. For example, a composite may include fibers and resins. The fibers and resins are combined and cured to form a composite material.
Further, by using composite materials, portions of an aircraft may be created in larger pieces or sections. For example, a fuselage in an aircraft may be created in cylindrical sections that may be put together to form the fuselage of the aircraft. Other examples include, for example, without limitation, wing sections joined to form a wing, stabilizer sections joined to form a stabilizer, a stiffener, a fairing, a control surface, a skin, a skin section, a door, a strut, and a tubular structure.
Currently, many composites in a manufactured aircraft require an autoclave to cure the composite components. An autoclave is a heat source that provides both heat and pressure. Composite resins typically need an elevated temperature to achieve a chemical reaction that allows these resins to flow and cure. Pressure is typically applied to consolidate the materials in the part during resin flow. The temperature typically used is usually greater than 150 degrees Fahrenheit (typically about 350 degrees Fahrenheit) with the pressure greater than one atmosphere.
Further, in manufacturing composite components, the materials typically are formed using a mold. These molds also are referred to as tools. A tool has sufficient rigidity to maintain the desired shape for the composite component when the composite materials are placed onto the tools. A tool may be metallic or non-metallic in composition to provide rigidity for supporting the composite materials.
With large components, a large autoclave is needed to encompass the component and the tool for processing. In some cases, these large components may be, for example, twelve to twenty feet in diameter and they weigh tons.
As a result, composite materials have been developed which require reduced heat and pressure to cure. Further, the amount of heat needed to cure these types of composite materials are typically at temperatures less than around 250 degrees Fahrenheit. Pressures are provided by vacuum and an oven and/or heated molds used as the heat source for chemical reactions.